. Bird-life; a guide to the study of our common birds. Birds -- United States; Birds -- Juvenile literature. W. mm b a Fig. 3.—Tip of tail of (a) Downy Woodpecker and of (b) Brown Creeper, to show the pointed shape in tails of creeping birds of diflerent families. (Natural size.) I do not understand how the Woodpecker's spear-tipped tongue could have resulted from the habit of impaling grubs, and in this case I should be inchned to regard structure as due to a natural selection which has pre- served favorable variations in the form of this organ. I have not space to discuss this subject more f
. Bird-life; a guide to the study of our common birds. Birds -- United States; Birds -- Juvenile literature. W. mm b a Fig. 3.—Tip of tail of (a) Downy Woodpecker and of (b) Brown Creeper, to show the pointed shape in tails of creeping birds of diflerent families. (Natural size.) I do not understand how the Woodpecker's spear-tipped tongue could have resulted from the habit of impaling grubs, and in this case I should be inchned to regard structure as due to a natural selection which has pre- served favorable variations in the form of this organ. I have not space to discuss this subject more fully, but trust that enough has been said to so convince you of the significance of habit, that when you see a bird in the bush it will not seem a mere automaton, but in each movement will give you evidence of a nice adjustment to its surroundings. Bemember, too, that evolution is a thing of the present as well as of the past. We may not be able to read the earlier pages in the history of a species, but the record of to-day is open to us if we can learn to interpret it. This may be made clearer, and the importance of a study of habit be emphasized, if I briefly outline the rela- tion between the wings, tail, feet, and bill of birds and the manner in which they are used. "We are in the field, not in the dissecting room; our instrument is a field glass, not a scalpel, and in learning the functions of these four. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Chapman, Frank M. (Frank Michler), 1864-1945; Seton, Ernest Thompson, 1860-1946. New York, D. Appleton & co.
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Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsunitedstates
